A MAN LOOKS AT ARTWORKS ENTITLED 'UNTITLED (CLAUDIA SCHIFFER SERIES)' BY AUSTRIAN ARTIST ERWIN WURM, DISPLAYED AT THE 'PERFORMING FOR THE CAMERA' EXHIBITION AT THE TATE MODERN GALLERY IN LONDON ON FEBRUARY 16, 2016. PHOTO BY LEON NEAL/AFP/GETTY IMAGES.

For many people in their twenties, art collecting can seem like a far-off pipe dream, the preserve of the older and wealthy. Millennials, after all, don’t typically make oodles of money: The average income for college graduates was just under $50,000 in 2017. While that’s a 3% increase from the prior year, student debt levels and the cost of living in job-creating urban centers are continuing to rise as well.

But the art market isn’t all $450 million Leonardo da Vinci paintings and snooty evening auctions, and many in the industry are taking steps to lower barriers to entry and bring in newer collectors, including young people.

“The misconception that art is only for the wealthy is my pet hate,” said Paul Becker, the founder of Art Money, which provides no-interest loans to art buyers. “There is such a rich ecosystem of quality and value beyond the obvious and expensive tiers.”

In 2008, Damien Hirst dodged his long-time dealers and took a complete exhibition of his work straight to Sotheby’s. The unprecedented sale surpassed all estimates, bringing in roughly $200 million (of which his galleries at the time, Gagosian and White Cube, did not partake), and raising a major question: Do artists need galleries to sell their work?